Southern Oven Lake at Dusk

The following is a chronicle of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness Area in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing some areas of intense blow down along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following along the wild Robinson River. The third part of the third day is a search along the southwestern shore of Oven Lake for an adequate campsite.



Date: June 30, 2011
Length: 0.2 miles (3.6 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

After a long day bushwhacking through dense forest, crossing multiple streams, climbing over hills, detouring around cliffs and blowdowns, and following along beaver swales, I finally stood on the southwestern shore of Oven Lake. The view of this remote lake was well worth the effort of the long trek from Streeter Fishpond to the Robinson River and the journey along the beaver swales to the southwest combined.

My view is limited by my position at the northern edge of a shallow cove in the southwestern corner of the lake. In both directions the lake constricts to a narrow channel; the southern one eventually connecting to Grassy Pond, while the northern one adjoins the southern section with the majority of the remainder of the lake. There is an abundance of blow down along the entire shoreline along the southern section of the lake.

Oven Lake is a very long lake, running about a mile in length and oriented approximately southwest to northeast. It is separated into roughly three different parts, caused by two restrictions, with the southernmost portion being the most distinct. A long, narrow channel connects the lake to its southern neighbor, Grassy Pond.

A common loon floats out on the water far from my position along the shore. My appearance sparks the loon’s curiosity as it performs a series of dives, where it emerges closer to my location with each subsequent submergence. The large bird apparently has never seen a strange creature like me around its breeding grounds before, or at least not often. Or maybe it is just my stench. After getting a closer look the loon moves off and returns to its search for more fish.

As the sun continues to sink in the sky, looking for a campsite becomes imperative, so I head north roughly following the shore line when possible. I set my sights on the large peninsula cutting the southern portion off from the majority of the lake to the north. This peninsula seems an ideal place for camping since the cross breeze may provide relief from the blood-letting later in the evening. The bugs are not currently an issue but I knew that could easily change as the evening wore on. Unfortunately, reaching the peninsula proves harder than I imagined due to the amount of blow down scattered along the shoreline.

The aerial photos of the lake indicate the large peninsula to the north almost becomes a natural bridge to the eastern shore. I was curious whether a beaver dam might be located there, ostensibly making Oven Lake into two different water bodies. Could the famous oven on which the lake’s name is based be located there too?

Blow down along shore

Unfortunately, exploring the peninsula had to wait until later. It is much farther away than it seemed upon my arrival and my frequent stumbling reminded me of my exhaustion from the day’s arduous bushwhack. Several times a wet and indistinct shoreline forces me farther into the regenerating forest. The dense forest with its frequent blow downs and the resulting new growth made the going extremely difficult.

Struggling through the dense vegetation in the heat finally proves too much for me and I settle for a marginal campsite along the shore. The site is within a small clearing tucked away in a patch of bracken ferns. It is probably technically a little too close to the water’s edge but I felt dispensation is due given the arduous terrain and my immediate need for filtered water. It is bad enough I am required to climb over several spruce blow downs just to get to the clearing in the first place.

Many of the usual campsite chores are even more difficult given the disorderly state of the surrounding forest. Although sticks abound around my campsite, getting through the forest to find one adequate as a pole for my tarp is a strenuous task, especially given my current state of exhaustion. Finding and hanging the food bag proves equally difficult with all the downed logs and leaning snags caught up in the remaining tree canopy.

Oven Lake

Despite the challenging forest conditions, the typical camp chores are accomplished in time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Oven Lake before the sun sinks below the horizon behind me. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes have other plans.

I really want to stay up and watch for bats during the evening. After two nights with stormy weather, tonight is the partly clear and warm; perfect for watching for bats. The mosquito horde fail to cooperate with my plan as their voracious appetite for my blood seem to know no bounds. Even my head net and insect repellent seems to be unable to stop their onslaught.

And the mosquitoes are not alone in their desire; no-see-ums and black flies appear in abundance as the sun sets behind me. This is the first time I see (or feel) black flies in large numbers since I started my trip two days ago.

I manage to remain out until around 9 PM but I never see a single bat. Not even the large cloud of vampiric insects is enough to lure a single bat near my location. Unfortunately, the common bats in the northeast are suffering from the stress of white-nose syndrome, which has decimated bat populations in the Adirondacks. I hoped to see at least a few individual bats at such a remote location as Oven Lake but the opportunity to do so would have to wait until tomorrow now.

My Hidden Tarp

I settle in for the evening as a chorus of frog species serenade me. As I work on falling asleep I hear spring peepers, green frogs, mink frogs and bullfrogs within the cacophony surrounding me. With an entire day of struggling through the regenerating forest within the blowdown along the western shore I am going to need every hour of sleep I can get.

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